By Brian Mahoney
Associated Press
Kobe Bryant has all that championship experience, and perhaps the NBAís best supporting cast. The Miami Heat have the promise of what LeBron James and Dwyane Wade can deliver in their first postseason together, and the Boston Celtics think their playoff-tested group can do it again.
ěYou donít ever know if youíre going to win a championship until you get there, but you know you have the pieces that can compete for one,î Wade said. ěThatís where weíre at right now.î
But to win an NBA title, those teams may have to go past Michael Jordan.
Well, past his likeness anyway.
The Chicago Bulls, with dynamite point guard Derrick Rose, earned home-court advantage by finishing with the leagueís best record for the first time since Jordan ruled the NBA. Keep on winning, and the Bulls would open the finals at the United Center, with its statue of Jordan outside.
And what a story it would be if his old coach was on the opposing sideline.
Phil Jackson, who led Jordan and the Bulls to six NBA titles, is expected to retire after this season. The Lakers would love to send him off with a sixth title in Los Angeles and a remarkable fourth three-peat.
They are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and endured a five-game losing streak late in the season. But they still have Bryant, seeking to tie Jordan with a sixth ring, and loads of interior depth with Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and they hope a healthy Andrew Bynum.
And they might be back on track after closing the regular season with two straight victories.
ěMaybe we turned a corner the last two nights,î Jackson said. ěWe canít do anything easy. Weíre bipolar.î
The playoffs start on Saturday, with Chicago hosting Indiana in the opener. Also Saturday, the Heat play Philadelphia; Atlanta and Orlando meet in a postseason rematch, and Portland visits Dallas.
The Lakers get started Sunday against New Orleans, after West No. 1 seed San Antonio welcomes the Memphis Grizzlies. The Celtics drew the New York Knicks, in their first postseason since 2004 and confident they are dangerous with the Carmelo Anthony-Amare Stoudemire tandem; before scoring leader Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder face the new-look Denver Nuggets in the nightcap.
The Bulls may lack the star power of some other heavyweights, but theyíve spent the last few months making believers of all of them. Led by Rose, perhaps the MVP favorite, Chicago went 62-20 for its best record since finishing with the same mark in 1997-98, Jordanís final season.
ěChicagoís a good team and thereís a reason why can they keep coming at you in waves,î Knicks coach Mike DíAntoni said, ěand they play hard.î
The two most intriguing first-round series could involve Anthonyís current and former teams.
New York struggled last month as it adjusted to the trade with Denver, but won seven straight down the stretch to set up the 14th Celtics-Knicks series. Boston had its own problems since dealing center Kendrick Perkins to the Thunder, and though the Celtics quickly put things together last year after a lackluster finish to the regular season, thereís questions if they can do it again following such a major change to their roster.
Doc Rivers said his team will be ready.
ěI think this is what our guys have been playing for all year,î he said. ěYou know, when you lose a Game 7, it sticks with you and thatís very difficult to get back through the regular season because the whole season youíre thinking about, ëGosh, weíve got to go through 82 of these just to have a chance to get back to where we were at last yearí and now all that part is gone. And now we can start trying to get back to, and finish the job.î